CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES TO: FROM: DATE: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL CAROLYNN PETRU, DEPUTY CITY MANAGERIINTERI~ RECREATION AND PARKS DIRECTOR APRIL 3, 2012 SUBJECT: DOG BEACH PILOT PROGRAM AT RANCHO PALOS VERDES. BEACH REVIEWED: CAROLYN LEHR, CITY MANAGERcV Staff Coordinator: Katie Howe, Administrative Analyst II RECOMMENDATION Rescind the February 21,2012 actiqn to establish a one-year off-leash dog beach pilot program at Rancho Palos VerdesB"each.. ' BACKGROUND On February 21,2012, City Council directed staff to initiate a 12-month pilot program allowing off-leash dogs at RPV Beach. Due to the wide-spread media attention received and the general lack of dog beaches in Los Angeles County (only two currently exist), activity at RPV Beach has increased significantly over the last two months. Further, the City has continued to receive public feedback, primarily from residents concerned with large crowds parking at the site and accessing the beach, as well as safety, sanitation and environmental concerns resulting from dogs on the beach and in the tide pools. Several Council Members have also individually raised the issue of dogs on the beach with staff and requested that the item be brought back for further consideration. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Over the last decade, the City has experienced a steady increase in visitors and activity along its coastline, which can be directly traced to new development, preservation of public open space and new public amenities, including the parks, trails and the recreational opportunities these all provide. More public amenities are on the horizon, including the California Coastal Trail and improvements slated for Abalone Cove Shoreline Park. The aggregate result has made the City's coastal area more accessible 3-1
Page 2 and inviting to residents and visitors alike. With each change, the City must balance the desire to provide improved public access and recreational amenities with the carrying capacity and impacts on the natural environment, adjacent properties, public infrastructure and the overall ambience and character of the community. Given the physical configuration of the subject property and the current level of activity at Trump National Golf Course and the Ocean Trails Preserve, the addition of an offleash dog beach at RPV Beach, even on a trial basis, appears to be beyond what is appropriate and sustainable for the site, especially given the apparent pent up demand for this type of facility in the greater Los Angeles area. Staff is concerned that the regulations and improvements to the beach that would be needed to address all of the concerns that have been raised through the public outreach process would overtax the City's re~ources and would benefit a specific user group to the detriment of the environment and the greater public use and enjoyment of the beach. Therefore, rather than proceeding with the environmental studies, Planning Commission review, development permits, and Code changes necessary to implement such a change in use, staff recommends that the City Council revisit its prior decision and rescind the one-year off-leash dog beach pilot program at RPV Beach. DISCUSSION Activity Level MRCA Rangers have patrolled the public parks and trails at the Ocean Trails Reserve and Shoreline Park since their contract was initiated in 2009. However, since February 21 st, Rangers have provided an average of 6-10 hours of directed patrol per week at the public parking areas, Founders Park, and walking trails adjacent to the beach. Their observations are that off-leash activity is rare in these areas, and occurs primarily on the beach. Since the Council's action, Rangers have issued a total of 2 citations for offleash dogs in the area, and gave 3 warnings to hikers with dogs attempting to access the beach below Shoreline Park, to the south of RPV Beach. Based on the Rangers' observations, more popular times and days when the beach is used include weekend late mornings and early afternoons (approximately 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.). Use also takes place weekdays, more often 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. No dog fights, injuries, or major incidents have been observed by or reported to the MRCA Rangers. Likewise, since February 21,2012, no dog-related incidents have been reported to the Lomita Sheriff's Station, and one incident of an aggressive pit bull was reported to Los Angeles County Animal Control. However, the Animal Control Officer was not able to locate the animal when he arrived at the site. Rangers observed an average of 35 people and 15 dogs on the beach on the cooler weekends, with the exception of the very warm weekend of March 3 rd - 4 th During their patrol on that particular weekend, they observed approximately 60 people and 35 dogs on the beach. They also observed an average of 15 people and 15 dogs on the beach on weekdays. The lower attendance figures may be reflective of the cooler weather 3-2
Page 3 experienced for most weekends in March. Rangers have also observed an increase in off-leash dogs on the beach south of RPV Beach, below Shoreline Park. Parking Concerns regarding parking have continued since the February 21 st Council meeting. Parking for public access to Rancho Palos Verdes Beach, Founders Park, and the public walking trails, as designated in the Public Amenities Plan for Trump National Golf Course, is available at four locations on the site: 1) the 45-space dedicated (day-use) public parking lot located to the east side of the clubhouse; 2) the 150-space parking lot on the west side of the clubhouse; 3) the 50-space public parking lot at the terminus of La Rotonda Drive, which is approximately 3/4 mile walk from the beach and Founders Park; and, 4) approximately 95 on-street parking spaces along Ocean Trails Drive. There is ho short-term opportunity to increase parking on the west side of the site, unless and until the public streets in Vesting Tentative Tract No. 50666 are developed. The City is scheduled to accept the remaining streets in Tract No. 50667 in May, which will increase the available public on-street parking on the east side of the property. This, in turn, could increase public use at Shoreline Park and its adjacent beach. On busier days, more of the existing public parking is being used. Contributing factors include warm weather, incre~sed publicity regarding the beach, and increased use of the public amenities (trails and parks) in the area. Cyclists using Palos Verdes Drive South have also been observed parking towards the top of Ocean Trails Drive,- often on weekends. There are also increases in organized events on and near the beach; for example, on Sunday, March 4 th Leash Off L.A. invited dog owners to the beach for a "Meet and Greet;" which, combined with the fine weather, contributed to one of the busiest days at the beach seen so far; on Saturday, March 17 th, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium organized a tide pool survey with approximately twenty participants on the beach; and, on consecutive Saturdays this winter, a fitness group parked along the top of Ocean Trails Drive and met at Marilyn Ryan Sunset Point Park for a run and yoga afterwards. Drop-in, organized recreation is an emerging issue in City parks and beaches and the Recreation and Parks Department is currently reviewing its policy. Enforcement City staff and MRCA Rangers had previously determined that approximately fifteen hours of patrol per week would be sufficient to enforce the City's existing ordinance prohibiting dogs on the beach. After further consideration of their staffing levels, MRCA has reported that they are able to provide the City a maximum additional ten hours of patrol time per week. In March, MRCA has been able to effectively patrol the public parking lots, Founders Park, and trails adjacent to RPV Beach without a contract increase, because these areas are either within or immediately adjacent to the Ocean Trails Reserve, which is part of their existing patrol area. MRCA's method of patrol allows for flexibility to patrol the entire Preserve, and to focus their time on "hot spots" or areas requiring heavier enforcement as they arise. Examples of such "hot spots" 3-3
Page 4 include nudity and lewd behavior at Sacred Cove, paragliding and misuse of trails by mountain bikers in the Portuguese Bend Reserve and off-leash dogs in the Ocean Trails Reserve. Prior to the MRCA Rangers contract, the City used the Lomita Sheriff Station's CORE Deputy Team to patrol the open space areas on the south side of the City. The CORE Team is currently available on a limited basis, approximately three to five hours per week, to provide additional patrols in the Ocean Trails Reserve to augment the Ranger patrols. In addition, the CORE Team has small off-road vehicles that can be used to access the beach. Regardless of the Council's decision on this item, enforcement will still be necessary at the Ocea.n Trails Preserve and should be extended to include off-leash dogs on the beach. Therefore, staff recommends continuing the MRCA Rangers existing level of patrol at the Ocean Trails Preserve under the current contract (6 to 10 hours per week) and augmenting their activities with the Sheriff's CORE Team (3 to 5 hours per week). The effectiveness of this strategy at RPV Beach and on the enforcement needs for the entire Preserve should be monitored and reassessed periodically to determine if an increase in the MRCA Ranger contract is necessary. Process and Timeline If the City Council decides to rescind the pilot dog beach program, staff proposes to implement a public education and enforcement program based on current regulations prohibiting dogs on RPV Beach using the following process and timeline: 3D-day public information period using MRCA Rangers and CORE Team to inform the public that dogs are prohibited on the beach and in the ocean. (Aprilearly May). Modification of the Sign Plan for Trump National Golf Course to provide: additional signage to facilitate enforcement. (April). Enforcement at RPV Beach using MRCA Rangers, and augmented by the CORE Team, as available. (Ongoing) ALTERNATIVES In addition to the staff recommendation, the following alternative has been identified for the Council's consideration: 1. Direct staff to continue to proceed with the steps necessary to establish an offleash dog use on RPV Beach. Similar to Alternative No.1, staff will implement a public education and enforcement program of existing regulations until a final decision is made whether to initiate the pilot program. If the pilot program is initiated, the type and level of enforcement would be adjusted based on the final 3-4
Page 5 design of the pilot program. Examples of final parameters could include whether dogs are required to be on-leash; if a specific area of the beach is fenced for offleash use; whether off-leash use is restricted to certain seasons, days and/or hours, etc. FISCAL IMPACT Currently, the MRCA Rangers are providing six to ten hours a week of directed patrol at the Ocean Trails Reserve. Regardless of which alternative the Council selects, MRCA has indicated that it is able to continue to deploy the Rangers at this same level and under the terms of the existing contract. Ranger patrols during the initial enforcement phase will be augmented by three to five hours of support from the Sheriff's CORE Team. The cost of this additional support is already included in the City's existing annual contract with the Sheriff's Department. Enforcement needs for either alternative will be re-evaluated periodically and may diminish over time. However, should the City determine a contract increase is necessary with MRCA, the cost to add up to ten hours of additional patrol time would be $31,200 per year, assuming the current hourly rates. Attachments Public Correspondence received since February 21,2012 February 21,2012 Staff Report 3-5